CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Acquires 1,575 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 82.7% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $106.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.83.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.